Media Coverage
The work done by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine faculty members (and even some students) is regularly highlighted in newspapers, online media outlets and more. Below you’ll find links to articles and videos of Feinberg in the news.
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Chicago Tribune
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Lake Forest Hospital gets grant for 3D animation iPad program
“After seeing the amazing technology behind modern movies and the video games I play with my kids, I started wondering how we could apply some of that same technology to patient care,” wrote Dr. Michael Walsh, a Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital neurological surgeon, via email. According to the hospital statement, a panel of judges, mostly affiliated with Northwestern Medicine, selected the Lake Forest initiative on March 21 with the funds provided by a local ambulance company. “We plan to have enough devices such as iPads in our office so that all of our neurosurgery patients can begin learning about our team as well as basic neurosurgical concepts while they are in the waiting room, with more advanced platforms such as interactive wall boards and virtual reality, which will be used during their time with the care providers,” Walsh said.
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The Washington Post
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Can postpartum depression affect dads too? Recent research says it might.
Although studies show that untreated maternal depression can affect mother-and-baby bonding, paternal depression can also influence a child’s development. “We know depression can impact the father-child relationship, as well as children’s future behavior,” said Sheehan Fisher, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Northwestern University. According to Fisher, kids who grow up with depressed dads may have a harder time coping with negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and sadness. He said these children may be more likely to “act out” their feelings by misbehaving and becoming aggressive.
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The Washington Post
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Scientists study brains of people whose memory stays strong into old age
It’s pretty extraordinary for people in their 80s and 90s to keep the same sharp memory as someone several decades younger, so scientists are peeking into the brains of“superagers” who do to uncover their secret. The work is the flip side of the disappointing hunt for new drugs to fight or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of tackling that problem, “why don’t we figure out what it is we might need to do to maximize our memory?” said neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, who leads the SuperAging study at Northwestern University in Chicago.
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The New York Times
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Weighing the Pros and Cons of Statins
You can determine your own risk using the calculator developed by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association at cvriskcalculator.com. If your calculated risk is 7.5 percent or higher, your doctor is likely to suggest you consider taking a statin, although a relatively high cholesterol level may not result in such a recommendation if you have no other heart risk factors. The risk score is meant “to start a conversation, not to write a prescription,” according to Dr. Don Lloyd-Jones, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a spokesman for the heart association.
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TODAY
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Fewer women than men receive recommended drugs after heart attack, study finds
Watson and others suspect part of the problem is that the public still doesn’t seem to appreciate the danger women face from heart disease. “The whole idea of cardiovascular disease being a fluke in women is a gender bias,” said Dr. Marla Mendelson, medical director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
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Chicago Tribune
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Can postpartum depression affect dads, too? Recent research says it might.
Although studies show that untreated maternal depression can affect mother-and-baby bonding, paternal depression can also influence a child’s development. “We know depression can impact the father-child relationship, as well as children’s future behavior,” said Sheehan Fisher, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Northwestern University. According to Fisher, kids who grow up with depressed dads may have a harder time coping with negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and sadness. He said these children may be more likely to “act out” their feelings by misbehaving and becoming aggressive.
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The New York Times
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Morning People May Live Longer Than Night Owls
Each increase from “morningness” to “eveningness” was associated with an increased risk for disease. Night owls were nearly twice as likely as early risers to have a psychological disorder and 30 percent more likely to have diabetes. Their risk for respiratory disease was 23 percent higher and for gastrointestinal disease 22 percent higher. The lead author, Kristen L. Knutson, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University, said that while being a night owl is partly genetic, people can make adjustments — gradually making bedtime earlier, avoiding using smartphones before bed, and eventually moving themselves out of the “night owl zone.”
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TIME
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How Being a Night Owl Endangers Your Health
The study only shows an association between identifying as a night person and dying earlier, so the findings are not definite. It’s also impossible to say whether the people in the study really do always stay up late or always wake up early. But if a person’s late-night activities are putting them at a higher risk for earlier death, there are still potential ways to intervene. Though the researchers say that genetics may be involved in whether a person is a night or morning person, people have some control. In a statement about the study, lead study author Kristen Knutson, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, says that if people want to act more like morning larks instead of night owls, they should try to keep a regular bedtime, get exposure to natural light in the morning and try to get things done earlier in the evening in order to get a good night’s rest.
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CNN
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Night owls have 10% higher mortality risk, study says
The study, published Thursday in the journal Chronobiology International, tracked almost half a million adults in the United Kingdom over an average of 6½ years. The researchers found that those people who identified as “definite evening types” at the beginning of the study had a 10% increased risk of all-cause mortality compared with “definite morning types.” Night owls were also more likely to have diabetes, neurological disorders, psychological disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and respiratory disorders, according to Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a leading author of the study.
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Huffington Post
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Night Owls ‘At Greater Risk Of Early Death’ Than Those Who Turn In Early
Society should wake up to the real difficulties faced by night owls, said the researchers. They called on employers to be more flexible towards staff who suffer when forced to clock in early. Dr Kristen Knutson, a member of the team from Northwestern University in Chicago, US, said: “Night owls trying to live in a morning lark world may have health consequences for their bodies. “They shouldn’t be forced to get up for an 8am shift. Make work shifts match people’s chronotypes. Some people may be better suited to night shifts.”
